


Smoke and Mirrors

by literallynewtscamander



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Bipolar Disorder, Bulimia, Depression, F/M, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Illness, Multi, Night Terrors, Post-Six of Crows, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychosis, Recreational Drug Use, Self Harm, Sex Trafficking, Six of Crows, kaz is acting like a lil bitch, leigh bardugo, like seriously tho trigger warning, panic disorder, parasomniac, side matthias/nina, side wesper, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-10-22 00:32:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17652629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literallynewtscamander/pseuds/literallynewtscamander
Summary: *TRIGGER WARNING FOR SELF HARM, BULIMIA, PTSD, PSYCHOSIS, PANIC DISORDER, BIPOLAR DISORDER*Inej, Kaz, and the gang live in an institute for mental illness and disorders called The Center. When they formulate a plan to break out, things go south pretty quickly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm currently writing a super fluffy klance fic right now so i'm writing this for variety's sake  
> READ SUMMARY FOR TRIGGER WARNINGS

Inej was starting to get sick of her alarm clock. The shrill sound plagued her every morning at exactly seven o’clock, and hitting snooze was not an option at The Center. Doctor Safin stubbornly insisted that a regular sleep schedule would be beneficial to her physical and emotional health, but so far it had only served to irritate her. Inej stared at the ceiling contemplating different ways to destroy the cursed alarm- there were plenty, of course- but she knew it wouldn’t do any good; they always sent in a nurse around 7:05 to make sure she was awake.

Inej was seldom motivated to do anything, and being productive was especially difficult with sleep tugging at her eyelids and only a mediocre breakfast to look forward to. Maybe she could just lie here for a little longer, squeeze in a couple more minutes of quiet. The nurses were annoyingly persistent, but maybe if she asked nicely they would leave her alone. She had about three minutes of peace before It hit her again, so suddenly that she squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a breath. It was an inescapable plague that followed her everywhere, the uncontrollable urge to tear at her own skin, to bruise, to slice, to-

"Inej. Good morning.” It was one of the nurses whose name she never bothered to learn, here for the morning wake up call. She strode purposefully to the window and cracked the curtains an inch in an attempt to jump-start Inej’s circadian rhythms. Inej threw an arm over her eyes to block the sunlight and let out a long groan. “Two more minutes,” she grumbled. The nurse only opened the curtains wider in response. “It’s time to get up. Breakfast is in fifteen minutes…. and I know that Nina is eager to see you this morning.” The nurse said it as though it were an afterthought, but of course it wasn’t. She was trying to get Inej excited to see her peers and to face the day, and it did work, a little. Nina was always a bright spot in Inej’s day with her quick wit and (occasionally irritating) incessant cheer. It was more than that, though. Inej knew that breakfast was hard for Nina, and having a friend present always made it more bearable.

She groaned once more, took a deep breath, and hauled her body upright. The nurse flashed a soft smile, exiting with a “We’re looking forward to seeing you at breakfast. Don’t take too long.”

Alone once again, Inej took a moment to stretch in the rays of sunlight streaming through the window, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and looking around. Her room was on the sparse side- a few posters, a desk with some books, a picture of her parents- but that was the way she liked it. She used to keep old trophies in the corner, but every time she looked at them she was reminded of the rush she used to get from dancing, could hear her instructor’s voice, “Our bodies are our tools; we have to take care of them,” and felt guilty all over again. Inej hadn’t exactly taken care of her body.

  
Most of the other residents spent their fifteen minutes showering in the mornings, but Inej liked to do that at night when her thoughts got too loud. The hot water always helped quiet them when almost nothing else could. Instead she preferred to spend her fifteen minutes doing her old stretches, partly to help wake her up, but mostly it was comforting to focus on her body instead of her mind. That was one thing she was in control of, at least. She started at her feet, rolling her ankles and flexing, then worked her way up through the rest of her body. When she finally ended with some shoulder rolls, she was feeling much more lucid.

One thing she prided herself on was her flexibility, and there was no way she was going to lose all the hard work she’d put in, even if she was stuck in this hospital. Exercise was another habit that Dr. Safin liked to encourage, in fact, it was almost annoying the way she went on about it. Inej knew more about endorphins and adrenaline than she had ever cared to.

After a light ten minutes, Inej threw on her usual clothes. All residents were provided with the same attire- a loose fitting dark blue top and similar blue pants, so when they clustered together they looked like a gaggle of oddly-attired monks. The two things that identified her from the others were her signature braided hair and cross, which she never left her room without. Inej grabbed it from the nightstand, took a deep breath, and stepped outside.  
As always, she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of room number 6, or more specifically, the boy inside. Kaz Brekker, resident psycho, and, if Inej was being honest with herself, a little bit attractive. She'd barely traded words with him in the past, but lately she was.... Curious. Curious to know more about Brekker. He was the only person in this saints-forsaken place that she had yet to crack. For now, at least.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um so apparently there's a Netflix adaptation coming up and?????? im v excited

Inej was aware of how strange she looked standing on tiptoes to see into the room, but she didn’t care much. It was unlikely that anyone would take notice of a small Suli girl acting crazy, and if they did, they would hardly care; everyone here had their own problems. The door was cracked open, revealing the immaculately made bed, bare walls, and-  
“What are you looking for?” It was Nina, barefoot and still half-asleep, but somehow still the prettiest girl Inej had ever seen. Nina had a habit of appearing at the most inconvenient moments, and looking good while doing it.  
Inej snapped her gaze away from the door and flashed a smile. “It’s nothing important. Ready for breakfast?”  
Nina rolled her eyes and said, “Very subtle change of subject, Inej.” Mercifully, she didn’t press the subject and started walking towards the cafeteria, instead. “Do you think they’ll have waffles? God, it’s been forever since I had a good waffle. Or chocolate cake.”

“Nina, somehow I don’t think they’ll serve chocolate cake for breakfast.”  
“You take the joy out of everything.”  
As they rounded the corner, a few other residents came into view. Among them was Jesper, miraculously energetic for 7:20 in the morning. Everywhere he walked he seemed to practically hover above the ground, and his mouth was always running. Doctor Safin called it a manic phase, but Inej just called it exhausting. Upon seeing Nina and Inej his eyes lit up, “Morning, ladies. Do anything exciting last night?” It was a cruel joke- he knew that the routine at The Center never changed. Inej said as much. “That’s mean, Jesper.”

“Sorry, love. Can’t help it. You know how I am.” He was fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt as usual. “Are you ready for breakfast, Nina?”  
Nina blew the hair out of her face and muttered, “Why does everyone ask that?” The smells wafting from the cafeteria were tempting, which was fine for Inej and Jesper, but Nina’s relationship with food was a little more complicated. The three of them walked into the cafeteria, Inej sandwiched in the middle, and took in the scene before them. Fewer than 20 kids sat at various tables, most on their own. There were Annika and Pim sitting together, Alys in the corner, and- “Who’s that?”  
A catlike grin slowly crept over Jesper’s face. “Looks like a new kid. He’s cute.” The boy in question had distinctive red-gold curls and a slightly worried frown creasing his forehead. Nina gave Jesper a pointed look. “Leave the poor boy alone. He’s got enough to worry about without you harassing him.” Jesper raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘We’ll see,’ and dropped the matter for the moment. The trio walked up to the counter and grabbed their specific meals- Inej’s eggs and fruit, Nina’s sausage and oatmeal, Jesper’s oatmeal (no sugar) - and sat at their usual table in the corner. Before even a minute could elapse, Jesper was playing his favorite mealtime game- hitting nurses with shredded bits of his napkin. By now they knew to duck when they passed the corner table, so he was having a hard time of it today. Nina immediately began to dig into her meal while Inej watched with a careful gaze. “Nina, slow down. You’ll get sick.” 

“Isn’t that kind of the point? Are you gonna finish those eggs?”  
“You know I’m not supposed to share with you.”  
Nina merely scoffed and finished her meal, Inej pushed her plate further away from her. She wasn’t particularly hungry this morning, or any morning. Instead she looked around at the other residents, most of them either tired or gloomy or both. Nurses bustled around the room visiting with the dour-looking children, trying to brighten the demeanor a bit. Only a few kids would even talk to them, but they seemed undeterred. And there, sitting by the door with his food tray untouched, was the boy from room 6. He was staring right at her, making no attempt to avert his gaze when she noticed. The hollows under his eyes were pronounced, like he hadn’t slept at all, and his hair was a little mussed in the front. His name was Kaz Brekker, and he’d been at The Center for as long as Inej could remember. The nurses were especially careful around him, and always seemed to be walking on eggshells; they were careful to avoid any traumatic topics. Of course, all information on residents was supposed to be confidential, but Inej was something of an ameteur spider. She knew almost everyone’s conditions and personal history. For example, Jesper was in for extreme bipolar disorder, Nina for bulimia, and Kaz for post traumatic stress disorder. This wasn’t unusual for a resident, but it was his second condition that made Inej nervous around him. Psychosis. She knew it didn’t make him a serial killer or a crazy stalker, but it certainly made him…. Unpredictable. Inej knew everything about everyone, except Kaz. She could never tell what he was going to do.  
She held his gaze for a few moments before be flashed a razor sharp smile and stood with the help of his cane. He left his tray uneaten, the other residents whispering, and Inej confused. Confused and determined. 

I will learn all of that boy's secrets, even if it kills me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruh this is a filler chapter so ignore it

Ok so im kind of in a rut with this story and in an attempt to push past it I'm skipping ahead to a part i think is more interesting. I'll actually write this chapter once I'm back in the flow but FOR NOW heres a summary of whats supossed to happen here.

They meet Wylan, jesper flirts a lot  
Kaz poses a plan to break out of the center  
The whole gang is in on it, things are about to get DICEY


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woohooo here we go lads

Inej was sitting curled up in an armchair in the common room reading some classic novel she couldn’t recall the title of, let alone the plot, when Kaz shuffled to her side. Did he ever bother doing his hair? “God, I couldn’t get through two pages of that.” He commented. His usually apathetic tone had a touch of excitement, and when Inej looked up into his face, she saw his eyes glinted. Inej’s hand went to the cross at her neck to ward off- something. She didn’t quite know yet, but she did know that it was never a good sign seeing Kaz this happy. “What do you want, Kaz?”

  
“Not even a hello? That stings, Ghafa.” Inej only held his gaze and raised an eyebrow. Kaz, seemingly giving up, leaned in closer and in a low tone said, “We need to talk. Everyone else is waiting.”  
“Is this where you tell us your master plan?”  
“This is where I tell you what you need to know. Supply closet, two minutes.”  
“You know, Brekker, I’m getting sick of your h-” But her protest was cut off as he brushed past her, which was Kaz’s way of saying he was done with the conversation. Inej watched him go, shaking her head. If there was a more infuriating boy on the planet, Inej hadn’t met him yet. He was making his way to the nurse in the center of the room, whose job was to surveil the patients, when his cane struck the side of an end table and he tripped. Rather dramatically, in Inej’s opinion. His hands splayed out to the sides and he gave an exaggerated cry of surprise that brought the nurse rushing to his side in seconds. “Are you alright? How does your leg feel?”

Inej didn’t stick around to hear the rest of her worried queries, instead turning the corner into the hallway. She stayed leaning against the wall for a while, listening to make sure nobody had followed her. It didn’t seem like she had been noticed; no footsteps followed her. For the first time since waking up, Inej was alone. In a way, it was nice- the silence. Times like these were rare, and greatly appreciated. But she also knew it was dangerous. Whenever she was left alone for too long the old habits began to eat away at her nerves again, and her hands went to the scars at her wrists. Saints, she wanted her knives. But for the first time, she could push past it because they were getting out of here. Inej sucked in a breath, gathered her nerves, and began walking.

The supply closet was located right next to the electrical room, down the most deserted corridor in the whole hospital. She had to admit, Kaz had picked a good spot. As she approached the closet, she heard muffled voices from within. It sounded like… Jesper? Of course, the loudest person on the face of the planet just had to be involved in their covert operation. She only caught snatches of his conversation, but it was loud enough to blow their cover.

Inej rolled her eyes and turned the doorknob, slipping inside to a dingy room with various bottles of cleaning fluids, flickering fluorescent lighting, and a defensive Jesper and grumpy Nina about to trade blows.  
“Look, I asked him to be here, okay? You’re not in charge here, Nina, so quit acting like such a bitch!”  
“He’s not exactly a secret agent, Jesper! He’ll last two days away from this place before he comes crawling back to Doctor Safin and snitching on us.”  
Jesper scoffed. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re not James Bond either! You can't go ten minutes without trying to flirt the pants off of someone."  
Wylan stood in the corner looking dejected, and Inej sensed this was about him somehow. "Hey! Keep your voices down!" She hissed. "You're both awful at this. What's going on here?"

  
Nina was the first to speak up, this time in a lower tone. "Jesper wants to bring Wylan along. You know he's not like us, he can't do this!" She looked flushed, the first signs of life in her eyes in months. "There's no way Kaz will let him come."  
Jesper opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by a determined-looking Wylan. "I can do it. I can handle this. Just give me a shot."  
"Oh, you'll get a shot alright. In the back of the head, after about six hours." Nina grumbled.  
Their altercation was interrupted by a rattle on the doorknob. The four of them froze- was it a nurse? Custodial staff? Doctor Safin? There was a collective sigh of relief when the door swung open to reveal Kaz, disapproving expression gracing his features. He swept inside, leaning more heavily on his cane than usual. Clicking the door shut behind him, he sunk down onto a box of old newspapers and cast a glare around the room. "Can you all act your age, please? And what is Wylan doing here?"  
Wylan stepped forward, then decided being any closer to Kaz might be dangerous, and retreated a few paces. "I can do this." He repeated. "Please. You have to let me come with you."  
"I don't really have to do anything, rich boy. Why should I let you come?"  
"I'm good at chemistry- I've even done a little demolitions work before. Also…. I play the flute."  
Nina threw her hands in the air. "Well, Jesus, Kaz, he can play the flute! What are we waiting for!"  
Jesper, leaning on the wall, winced. "That's not exactly a big selling point for you, merchling."  
"Wylan can come."  
There was a beat of silence after Kaz's pronouncement, and though Nina certainly looked disgruntled, she didn't argue. "Now, are you all going to let me tell you the plan, or are you going to keep wasting my time?"  
Nina and Jesper looked at the ground, resembling chastised children.  
"Good. Listen closely, crew.

 

This is going to be a hell of a ride."


End file.
